The Kite Runner – An Essay The Kite Runner is the first novel by Afghan-American author Khaled Hosseini. It was published in the year 2003 just after the world had shifted their interest from Afghanistan to Iraq. It is considered to be one of the finest pieces of Muslim-immigrant literature. The protagonist of the story is Amir, a boy from the Wazir Akbar Khan district of Kabul, and it follows his life from his birth to middle age. The story is set against a backdrop of tumultuous events in Afghanistan and how it affects the life of its characters. The story begins with Amir as a young boy in Afghanistan. He lays emphasis on many events that took place in his life and how they contributed in building his character. The book is divided into …show more content…
In winters, when the kite-fighting tournament occurs, boys cover their kite strings in glass and battle to see who can catch the string of the opposing kite. When a kite loses, boys chase and retrieve it, which they refer to as kite running. Amir wins one of these tournaments and Hassan sets off to catch the losing kite. When Hassan does not returns for a while, Amir goes to look for him. He finds Hassan trapped at the end of an alley, pinned with his pants down. In secret, he watches Hassan getting raped by Assef but instead of helping him, he runs away. Experiencing the shame of his own cowardice as well as of Hassan’s knowledge of it, Amir starts resenting Hassan for his endless devotion for him. Henceforth, Amir and Hassan start drifting apart. He betrays Hassan yet again when he stuffs some money and a watch under Hassan’s pillow and tells Baba that Hassan stole it. When Baba confronts them, Hassan admits to it, though he didn’t do it. Shortly after, Ali and Hassan move away. As Amir’s personal situation deteriorates, so does the political situation in Afghanistan. Baba and Amir flee in 1981 and eventually settle in California, where they suffer a complete reversal of fortune. By the end of the decade, Amir has completed college (majoring in English), lost his father (to cancer), married Soraya, a (previously rebellious) member of the local Afghan community, and published his first
...r image had occurred from the past with the reversal it entails. The kite is important in this situation because the reversal could not have taken place in any other scenario. Sohrab would not interact with the world nearly at all at this point, and the only way it could have paralleled would be with a kite battle. Amir had traded places with Hassan through Sohrab with the use of the kite.
Flying kites was a source of Amir 's happiness as a child as well as a way to attain his father’s approval. In Kabul, Afghanistan, a kite flying tournament was held annually. Young boys laced their string with glass and attempted to cut the strings of other kite flyers. That last on standing was deemed the champion and the idol of all the younger children. Before Amir competed in his kite tournament, Baba said, “I think maybe you 'll win the tournament this year. What do you think?” (Hosseini, 50) Amir took this opportunity and told himself that, “I was going to win, and I was going to run that last kite. Then I’d bring it home and show it to Baba. Show him once and for all his son was worthy. Then maybe my life as a ghost in this house would finally be over.” (Hosseini, 50) Amir wanted the approval and affection of his father badly enough that he was willing to allow Hassan to get raped in order to attain it. After this kits became the symbol of Amir 's betrayal to Hassan. The kite ultimately becomes the way that Amir connects with Sohrab, mirroring how Amir connected with Baba when he was a
Assef's vow comes true during the day of Amir's favorite sport: "kite fighting". In this sport, children fly their kites and try to "slice" each other's kite. Amir wins the tournament, and Baba's praise, with his kite the last one flying, but when Hassan goes to fetch the last cut kite, a great trophy, Assef and two henchmen are there instead. Hassan tries to protect Amir's kite, but Assef beats Hassan and brutally rapes him. Amir hides and watches Hassan and is too scared to help him. Afterwards, Hassan becomes emotionally downcast. Amir knows why but keeps it a secret, and things are never the same between the two. After hearing a story from Rahim Khan, Amir decides it would be best for Hassan to go away. Amir frames Hassan as a thief but Baba forgives him, even though he admits to committing
On his journey to save Sohrab, Amir discovers that a Taliban official took him from the orphanage. When meeting with that Taliban official, who turns out to be his childhood nemesis Assef, Amir is placed in a situation where he is forced to choose between fleeing from the enemy and saving Hassan’s son. The structure of this scenario is analogous to one earlier in the book when Amir had to choose between saving Hassan by standing up for him and repairing the relationship with his father by bringing the blue kite back. The author uses the similar setting with Assef and the similarities in characterization of father and son in order to provide Amir with the opportunity to make the choice to stand up for what he believes in. When Amir allowed Hass...
Amir does not love sports as much as Baba, but he does love participating in the kite-fighting tournament. In the winter of 1975, Amir and Hassan competed in the tournament. Amir feels that this is a way to gain some of Baba’s love back, therefore winning is crucial. Hassan is a master at kite running. No matter the weather conditions or the amount of people running a kite, Hassan always knew where the kite was going to land.
“Hassan never denied [Amir] anything.” After the life changing moment when Hassan got raped by Assef, Hassan became withdrawn. Amir was riddled with guilt because he saw the rape and did not stop it even though he had the ability. Amir was aware that Hassan knew that he saw it and did nothing, making him even feel more like coward. This led to Amir trying to make Hassan have some sort of emotion, to hit him and to be angry with him. Hassan was just not capable of those sort of ugly emotions. Although Amir did nothing to stop the rape, Hassan still was faithful to him. Amir couldn’t live with the guilt so he concocted a plan where it looked like Hassan stole a watch and birthday money from Amir. When Amir’s Baba asks “Did you steal Amir’s watch, Hasan?”” Hassan’s reply was a single word, delivered in a thin raspy voice: Yes.” This proves that Hassan is selfless; even though there would be harsh consequences he was willing to lie in order to protect Amir. Hassan knew that if Baba found out that Amir lied, Amir would be in a great deal of trouble and Hassan would do anything, at any cost to protect
Amir and Hassan’s relationship is a recurring theme throughout the novel. In the ethnic caste system, Amir is a Pashtun and Hassan is a Hazara. Pashtuns are placed in a much higher caste than Hazaras, therefore Hazaras are treated as servants to the Pashtuns. Every morning, Hassan prepares Amir’s breakfast, makes his clothes and cleans his room for him. In the annual kite tournament, at least two people must work together in order to properly maneuver the kite, one to lead the kite, and another to feed the kite’s glass string. Hassan’s role is the latter. His role is to feed the kite’s string for Amir and run after any fallen kites. The glass string attached to the kite is dangerous as it is coated with shards of glass and leaves bloody marks and cuts on the hands. Although Hassan catches the fallen kites, he must always bring it back to Amir. One winter, when Hassan and Amir were waiting under a tree for the kite to come to them, Hassan asks Amir “Would I ever lie to you, Amir agha?” (Ho...
Amir now has the skills needed to continue his life in America as being independent and the man of the house. The future is bright for Amir, as one can see a fortified, relieved, and joyful version of him compared to the accustomed one in Kabul. Amir is able to purge his sin of silence and lying by using his newfound life to forget all that has occurred in Kabul. This new land of opportunity also brings Baba and Amir closer, for they need to look out for each other as a way to be successful and survive in the land of the free.
The only reason that Hassan got raped was that he was trying to get a kite for Amir. Now the kite acts a reminder to Hassan of his wrong-doing and it will now begin to haunt him for a long time. Although when in America, Amir does not get reminded about Hassan, deep inside he still feels guilty. Amir immediately begins to feel the most guilt when he goes to Iran when Rahim Khan, Amir’s childhood friend, asks him to come. He feels that Rahim Khan has reminded him of his “past of unatoned sins”(Hosseini 2).
The other source of tension in Amir’s life is his relationship with Baba, his hard-driving and demanding father. Desperate to win his father’s affection and respect, Amir turns to the sport of kite flying, and at the age of 12, with the assistance of Hassan, he wins the annual tournament in Kabul. Amir’s victory soon is tarnished when he witnesses a vicious assault against his friend, who raced through the streets of Kabul to retrieve the last kite, Amir had sliced from the sky, and fails to come to his aid. Amir’s cowardness is compounded by a later act of betrayal that causes Ali and Hassan to leave their home, and he now faces the nightmare, bearing the burden of his poor choices for the rest of his life.
In Amir’s early childhood, kites represented happiness. Flying kites was his favorite pastime, as it was the only way that he connected fully with Baba, who was once a champion kite fighter. However, the kite takes on a different significance when Amir doesn’t stop Hassan's abusers from raping him in order to prevent the kite from being stolen. The kite serves as a symbol of Amir’s guilt throughout the novel. Hechose his fragile relationship with his father over the well-being of his best friend and half-brother: “Baba and I lived in the same ...
Amir’s childhood is quite unusual compared to most children in Afghan. Amir’s father, Baba, is a very rich and successful individual in his lifetime. This success allows Amir to live a wealthy lifestyle with access to western commodity as well as servants. In novel, Amir is risen mostly by his servants Hassan and Ali, as well
Khaled Hosseini, the author of The Kite Runner, grew up in prejudiced Afghanistan during the 1960’s as a middle-class Pashtun living with Hazaras working for his family. His move to America after the Communist Coup proved difficult for his family, especially his father. In his novel, Hosseini writes through a young boy, Amir, very similar to himself, who grows up with his father and two Hazara servants in Afghanistan at the time of the Taliban attacks. Both Amir and his father, Baba, treat their servants, Hassan and Ali, like family. Society, however, does not approve of such relationships between Pashtuns and Hazaras. As Amir hides and watches horrified, another Pashtun boy rapes Hassan. This leads to the continuation of Amir’s internal conflict about the treatment of Hazaras by the public, and also makes him feel guilty and self-conscious throughout his entire life. In addition, Amir strives for affection and attention from his rather indifferent father. Amir’s outward conformity to societal values in his relationships with both Hassan and Baba, as a result of his inner struggle and guilt, contribute greatly to the significance of The Kite Runner.
However there are some characters that become better people and change becoming a better, stronger, more loyal individual in the end. The individual that demonstrates this development within this novel is Amir himself. All of the guilt Amir holds with him as a child allow him to realize his duty to be loyal to his brother Hassan ion the end. An example of this is when Amir goes back to Kabul, Afghanistan to retrieve his nephew Sohrab. Amir says, “I remembered Wahid’s boys and… I realized something. I would not leave Afghanistan without finding Sohrab.’ tell me where he is,’ I said” (Hosseini 255). Here, Amir is at the orphanage waiting to find out where Taliban has taken his nephew. Amir remembers the three young starving sons of Wahid, a man whose home he had been in earlier, and realized that Afghanistan is not a safe place for Sohrab. Amir is finally aware of one thing, Hassan has always been there to protect Amir like a loyal friend and brother would and now Amir knows that it is his turn to return that loyalty to Hassan by protecting Hassan’s flesh and blood. A second example of Amir’s loyalty to Hassan near the ending of the book is during Amir’s confrontation with General Sahib and the dinner table after Sohrab is safe in America with him. Amir proclaims to General Sahib, “…That boy sleeping on the couch
Amir overhears this and is very troubled that Baba doesn’t approve of him. To Amir, this is a realization that he is a coward and his father notices it. Later in the book, Amir sees Hassan being raped and he is contemplating jumping in and being courageous because he says, “I had one last chance to make a decision. One final opportunity to decide who I was going to be” (Hosseini, 77). Amir realizes that he has to decide “who I am”....